News

LivingSocial hires Best Buy’s former marketing chief

January 9, 2013 11:25 AM

LivingSocial has hired Barry Judge as its chief marketing officer.

Judge, who resigned last May from his position as executive vice president, global chief marketing officer at Best Buy Co., will oversee all aspects of marketing for the daily deal operator, including online and offline advertising, brand management, social media and communications.

“Barry is a giant in the field of marketing, and his decision to join our leadership team is a tremendous vote of confidence in our vision and opportunity for success,” says LivingSocial CEO Tim O’Shaughnessy. “Barry helped one of the world’s largest retailers build a powerhouse online and mobile presence and we’re confident he can help us extend our own leadership in the local commerce space.”

Judge says he aims to build the LivingSocial brand by leveraging the relationships the company has built with consumers.

“No other company in the local commerce landscape combines LivingSocial’s broad reach, deep consumer and merchant relationships, and strong reputation,” Judge says. “LivingSocial has a unique opportunity to build a new industry from scratch by helping millions of local customers discover and share the best things to do in their cities.”

Judge, who began working at Best Buy in 1999, held a variety of roles at the multichannel retailer during his tenure, including vice president of marketing and e-publishing, vice president of consumer and brand marketing and senior vice president of marketing capability, digital media, customer-relationship loyalty marketing and customer strategy, according to his LinkedIn profile. Prior to Best Buy, he was vice president of marketing at Caribou Coffee Co. and group marketing manager at General Mills-owned Green Giant Brands.

The hire comes after the daily deal operator laid off about 400 employees, nearly 9% of its 4,500-person global workforce, in November. And Amazon.com Inc., which bought a stake in the company in 2010, wrote off $169 million of its $175 million investment in the third quarter.